Brave
by kilroyactual117
Summary: The Human Covenant War took a tole on all those involved, something Kelly-087 knows all too well. She's ready to give up, but maybe a chance encounter with a future Spartan, Olivia G291, can push her back from that edge. Inspired by the song "Hello World" by Lady Antebellum.
**AN: Hey Spartans. This song was inspired by an old Lady Antebellum song called "Hello World." I heard the song out of the blue one day, and I remembered just how great of a song it was. Hearing it gave me chills, and I knew I had to write something to go along with it.**

 **So this is it. After reading _Last Light_ (which I still haven't finished, lol) I had this idea that maybe Kelly and Olivia may have met each other earlier in life, and got this.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

If history had proven one thing, it's that soldiers and military hardware never failed to inspire a society.

The 300 spartans inspired Sparta to stand against the Persians, tanks, rolling off the line by the hundreds inspired the Allies to claim victory in the Second World War, and the UNSC Navy had inspired many a Marine to fight to his end in the name of a hopeless conflict against an alien race, but today, as Kelly-087 walked the halls of a ship that and no doubt had that effect on many a soldier, she couldn't feel inspired for the life of her.

Her last battle had made her feel broken like she was never gonna heal.

The Covenant had attacked a small mining planet, that wasn't even officially named beyond its formal designation of X249. It was barely terraformed, and generally unremarkable. The only reason the Spartans had been sent in was because the planet was one of the UNSC's last sources of titanium, otherwise the people living there probably would have been left to die.

Even with the Spartans, civilian casualties had still been astronomical. Close to eighty precent of the planet's population had died in a few hours after the invasion. Kelly and Fred had been in charge of evacuations, and she had watched, helpless, as the Covenant fired indiscriminately into crowds of civilians waiting to board evac transports. There was only so much she, Fred, and a handful of Army reservists could do to halt a full on Covenant assault, and it hadn't been nearly enough.

Men, women, children, young, old, military, civilian, it didn't matter to the Covenant. They had slaughtered anyone they saw.

Normally Kelly would have been able to protect herself from the psychological impact of it all with a combination of a dark sense of humor and a lack of sensitivity brought on by years of watching the death of society unfold before her eyes, but even that wasn't enough to block out of her mind what she had just seen.

She couldn't be around her fellow Spartans right now, or anyone for that matter. She just needed to be alone, and the reactor room was usually the only place on a ship no one but slipspace drive technicians dared to go, and that was as about as empty of a space as one could find on a Navy ship.

As she walked at a quickened pace towards the reactor room, she tried desperately to push the thought of the conflict out of her head, and when she felt a small tug at the back of her pants leg, she spun around in anger, wondering who had dared to bother her, and what she found nearly crushed her soul.

A little girl stood behind her, her pained brown eyes meeting Kelly's glare head on. She was only came up to Kelly's knee. Her olive skin was caked with dirt, her dark hair matted, her red dress was torn, undoubtably in the confusion of the evacuation, and a teddy bear was clutched in her arms.

She looked scared, confused, and out of place on a Navy ship.

This girl had probably had a relatively regular life as the daughter of a miner on that planet until the Covenant had shown up, now she was a refugee, lost and without a home.

Kelly dropped her glare and tried to fight flashbacks of the battle that had occurred only a few hours ago, where Kelly had no doubt seen some of this girl's friends die at the hands of the Covenant.

"Excuse me," said the girl in a small, quiet voice, "are you a Spartan?"

Kelly wasn't sure how to react to the question. She had never spent any time around children, she only had assumptions as to what she should act like around them. Her lack of knowledge of how to treat the small, innocent person before her made her feel as cold as steel.

Kelly knelt down next to the little girl so that she would tower over her just a bit less, and forced a smile, hoping it would be comforting to her.

"Why yes I am. How did you know?" She asked.

The girl looked at the floor. She looked overwhelmingly terrified of Kelly and her completely foreign surroundings, but still she stood fast.

"My daddy told me about Spartans," she whispered, "he was in the Army. I know you're one because you're tall and strong and pretty, just like he said you would be."

The girl's words hit Kelly hard. If her father was in the Army, and was stationed on the planet during the battle, he was most likely dead.

Kelly scolded herself for even thinking that way. Surely he had to have survived. This girl needed a father right now.

"That's very kind of you," said Kelly with a smile, "where's your daddy now?"

The girl met Kelly's gaze for a second, then looked away, her eyes tearing up.

"He's, he's, he's," she stuttered, trying to get out a sentence before eventually stopping and sobbing uncontrollably.

Kelly's heart broke in two. She wanted to do something, anything to comfort this girl, but what? Kelly had never been taught to help, only to kill. This was beyond the scope of her expertise.

"Hey, it's ok," said Kelly, fumbling to find something reassuring to say, "everything's going to be alright."

The little girl's eye's met Kelly's once again, still just a wracked with pain as they had been before, and then she lunged forward and hugged kelly around her midsection, pressing her head against Kelly's stomach and letting her tears soak into Kelly's fatigues.

Kelly almost jerked away. Such an action was so incredibly foreign to her that she was completely unsure how to react. She became afraid that if she reacted wrong she might hurt this small, fragile girl who needed nothing other than to heal.

Involuntarily, however, she felt her arms wrap around the girl. Somewhere deep inside of her, there was still a human being that knew what to do in this situation, somewhere inside of her, a desire for healing still rested.

After a moment the girl pulled away slightly and moved her hand to rest on Kelly's name tape.

"Kelly..." She said softly as she traced it's letters with one, small finger.

"That's me," said Kelly with a forced smile. God did she want to do anything but smile right now, but that wasn't what this girl needed.

"What's your name?" She asked in return.

The girl pulled her hand away from Kelly and stood firmly in front of her once again.

"Olivia," she said, her voice a little bit louder and more form this time, "but my mommy and daddy call me 'Livi."

"That's a very pretty name," said Kelly, hoping it would take her mind off of the traumatic event she had just gone through.

Olivia barely seemed to notice the comment thought. She stood up straighter, and set her face to a neutral frown, as if trying to make herself look stronger in front of Kelly.

Her hand moved from Kelly's name tape to her unit crest, the eagle of the Spartan program, and lingered there thoughtfully before dropping away, looking defeated.

"I wish I was a Spartan like you Kelly," she said, her voice now almost defiant, "then I would have been strong enough to save my mommy and daddy."

Kelly couldn't believe the courage of this girl. In a lot of ways she reminded her of a younger version of herself. When she had first been brought into the Spartan program she was told her parents weren't coming for her, and she had never believed a word of it. She had decided that day that she would become the best of the Spartans so she could one day return to them and protect them from the UNSC, but somewhere along the line that goal had vanished, and she had come to see the world as it really was.

Now she saw the world through she eyes of the little girl before her once again, and she knew that she couldn't let any of that happen to Olivia. She still had a precious life ahead of her, one that didn't need to be decided by anyone else.

"You don't want to be like me 'Livi," said Kelly firmly, "there aren't going to be any new Spartans after me, and trust me, you shouldn't wish to be one."

The little girl frowned, and looked almost as though she might return to sobbing.

"Then how will I be brave like you?" She asked dejectedly, "how will I be strong enough to save people?"

Kelly smiled at her and took her hand.

"You are strong 'Livi," she said with a smile, "and you are brave. Braver than anyone I've ever met."

Olivia met Kelly's eyes once again.

"Brave enough to be Spartan?"

Kelly wasn't sure if she was going crazy or not, but in that moment she swore she saw a light, flicker of hope in the eyes of that little girl. That small light healed kelly enough to allow her to have a little bit of hope as well.

Kelly took off her patrol cap, which bore the Spartan program emblem, and set it on Olivia's head.

"Yes 'Livi," she said, patting her on the head, "brave enough to be a Spartan."

Olivia smiled and hugged Kelly once again. Kelly didn't hesitate to return the gesture this time, but was still careful not to hurt her. She didn't need to be hurt any longer.

Kelly stood and extended her hand to Olivia.

"Come on, let's find you some place to stay."

Olivia nodded and wrapped her hand around one of Kelly's fingers, allowing her to guide her along.

Kelly soon found a Marine with a compad that appeared to be in charge of finding space for refugees, and flagged him down.

"Corporal, get this girl some food and find her a place to stay," she commanded.

He nodded to Kelly, then extended his hand to Olivia.

"Come on, Follow me," he said with a smile.

Olivia wasn't having any of it. She scurried behind Kelly's leg and grabbed on tight to her pant leg, peaking around only enough to see the Marine's face.

"No," she said firmly.

Kelly turned around and gently smiled at her.

"It's ok 'Livi," she said, trying to set the girl's mind at ease, "he's a friend of mine. He'll take care of you."

She shook her head and buried her face into the back of Kelly's leg.

"He's scary Kelly," she said in a shrill voice.

Kelly looked to the Marine, who seemed to be incredibly confused, and then back to Olivia. Kelly couldn't help but find it odd how she seemed so comfortable around someone as imposing as herself, and yet a Marine that was half her height scared her to death.

It didn't matter however. Olivia had been through enough today, and if she didn't want to go with this Marine, she wouldn't have to.

Kelly waved off the Marine and led Olivia to the ship's mess hall, feeding her an MRE before leading her back to the small are where the rest of the Spartan's had set up.

As Kelly entered the room, which was littered with weapons, armor, and contained only four bunks. The three other members of Blue Team looked up from their various tasks to find the odd sight of a Spartan holding hands with a little girl.

Every one of them looked exhausted and beaten by battle, but as they noticed Olivia smiling at them all of their demeanors began to change.

John looked shocked to see such a small girl, Fred looked crushed by her dilapidated state, and Linda alone smirked slightly at the sight. All of them, however, seemed too surprised to say or do anything as Olivia broke free from Kelly's grasp and ran towards them.

First she ran to Linda, who sat with her legs crossed on the floor cleaning her weapon, and looked wide eyed at her, almost shocked by the Spartan sitting before her.

Olivia reached up and gently placed her hand into Linda's blood red hair, and slowly moved it down to her forehead.

"You're so pretty..." She breathed.

Linda smiled and seemed ready to respond, but before she could Olivia dashed over to Fred, who stood at his full height, looking down at her with an odd expression.

"You're really tall," said Olivia, laughing up at him, and Fred, in turn, smiled down at her.

He attempted to kneel down to her level, but she was too quick.

She dashed over to John, who still seemed confused, and maybe even a little afraid of the small girl before him. The war had probably had the most effect on John. It had forged him into the ruthless, efficient, archetype of the Spartan program the UNSC had always wanted him to be, but even he couldn't help but have a bit of wonder in his eyes as he looked at this little girl.

"You look tough, but I think you're probably really nice," said Olivia with a smile.

Kelly wasn't sure what John would think of the comment. He certainly seemed uncomfortable with Olivia, but to her utter amazement, Kelly watched as the corners of John's mouth folded into a smile.

Olivia sat down on the floor, and the Spartans sat down in a circle around her, fascinated by the ray of light Kelly had brought into their presence.

Olivia seemed to have an endless amount of questions for each of them. At first the Spartans seemed reluctant to answer, but after a while they all seemed to warm to the prospect of having Olivia around.

She seemed fascinated by Linda's red hair, and was constantly climbing over John as though he was her own personal jungle gym. That caused John to tense at first. No doubt he was afraid of hurting such a fragile child, but John's size didn't seem to daunt Olivia, who sat on his shoulder for most of the conversation.

Fred handed Olivia his helmet, and she hefted it onto her head quite awkwardly. Despite the fact it covered her down to her shoulders, she looked like she was born to wear it.

When she tired of relentlessly questioning the Spartans, she rubbed her eyes and returned to Kelly, curling up on her lap and passing out asleep.

Kelly looked towards the rest of her team. All of them looked equally awed and confused by the sight of such a fragile piece of humanity clinging to a Spartan in such a way.

Slowly, they all went back to their previous tasks, not really sure what to say, or if to say anything. Human interaction was so foreign to them that having even a child around scared the hell out of them.

Kelly, however, wasn't affected by it in the least. She picked up Olivia gently and laid her down on her cot, covering her up to her shoulders in a blanket.

She sat down at the foot of the bed, and vigilantly watched over her as she slept peacefully, oblivious to the horror of the world around her. This brave girl had seen enough today, now it was up to Kelly to make sure she wouldn't have to be brave any longer.

She had shown her a little light, a little hope in her eyes, and there was nothing Kelly could ever do to repay her.

* * *

Life is a funny thing for most people.

Some act, some wait, and some spend their entire lives wondering "does life have a purpose? And are you destined to accomplish it?"

Entire theological discussions and political debates have ensured countless times around this very principle, but ask Olivia G-291 and you'll find she had one, very explicit purpose in life, to make the Covenant pay for what they had taken from her.

She had worked her entire life to become the perfect instrument for this purpose, a trained Spartan, ready to take the fight to the enemy, but still at times she wondered wether or not revenge was an accomplishable goal. How could she possibly make an entire race pay for what they had done to her?

Had Kelly-087 not given her hope so many years ago, she might not have thought she could, but she had given her a model to follow, a path to become a living weapon. Now she had been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to be a Spartan, a chance to be like Kelly.

When she was young, maybe five, she couldn't remember, and was approached by a Spartan program recruiter she hadn't had a moment of hesitation in joining the program. She still believed it was the most worthwhile thing she could have done with her life.

Kelly had told her with certainty there would be no more Spartans, and completely by chance, she had cheated that inevitability.

When Olivia had seen Kelly for the second time, and read that small numbered tag on the outside of her armor as she approached alongside Doctor Halsey, she had been elated, but there had been no time for formalities, and Even now, as Olivia walked beside Kelly into the depths of the shield world known as Onyx, Kelly still hadn't spoken to her.

Olivia didn't hold it against her. No doubt Kelly had seen enough in her time to forget about such a small interaction with a girl she probably thought had died long ago, but still she couldn't help but feel disappointed. The woman standing next to her was her hero, her inspiration, now she had forgotten her.

Maybe she should say something to her?

She looked up at her to see if she was in a good place, but found her looking off into the distance, rifle leveled at a nearby building.

Olivia's radio crackled to life.

"Blue one, I spotted movement, moving to investigate," said Kelly.

"Acknowledged," replied Fred.

Kelly waved slightly to Olivia. "G291, back me up."

That command all but confirmed Olivia's fears. G291, that was all Kelly thought of her now.

She nodded and followed Kelly towards the building. Kelly dashed rapidly, disappearing into the building with Olivia struggling to keep up with her incredible sprinting speed, and ran through the door after her.

Surprisingly her motion tracker read nothing when she entered.

Funny, Kelly had reported movement.

She ran deeper into the structure, still struggling to keep up with Kelly, and eventually found her, standing in the middle of the hallway and facing Olivia. Even though she couldn't see through Kelly's face shield, she could tell something was up. Her shoulders were slumped uncharacteristically, her weapon hung loosely in front of her, and her gaze was fixed directly ahead.

She watched as Kelly slowly reached up and removed her helmet, revealing the familiar brown eyes Olivia remembered from so many years ago.

Olivia did the same, and a glimmer of hope shot through her as Kelly smiled on her newly revealed face.

"Olivia, do you remember me?" She asked tentatively.

Olivia smiled as well. Her hero had finally come back to her.

"How could I forget?"

Kelly smiled brightly and approached her, setting her hands on her shoulders.

"Look at you," she breathed, "all grown up."

The way Kelly said those last few words particularly struck Olivia. She sound almost sad to be reunited with her.

"I told you I was brave," she said with a smile, "brave enough to be a Spartan."

Kelly's expression deepened to a full on frown.

What had she done? She had beat the odds. Kelly had told her there would never be any more Spartans and she had become one. Shouldn't she be proud?

"My god," she said softly, "you did this because if me?"

Kelly now looked visibly sickened, leaving Olivia baffled.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, "I followed in your footsteps. I became like you. Now I can get back at the Covenant."

Kelly lowered her head for a second, and looked almost as though she was ready to weep.

"I know 'Livi," she said softly, "I know."

Olivia saw Kelly curse under her breath as she finished the sentence, and close her eyes for a brief moment, almost as though she was trying to hold back an unspoken truth.

"What is it?" Asked Olivia frantically, "what did I do wrong?"

She didn't want to disappoint Kelly. She was her hero, her guide, her purpose, but Kelly simply smiled reassuringly and shook her head.

"You did nothing wrong 'Livi."

Despite the fact that she didn't seem to believe Kelly meant that, Olivia kept quiet, and reached down to put on her helmet, but Kelly stopped her with a lightning fast hand.

She awkwardly embraced Olivia and muttered something about a sweet, little girl, and then broke away quickly, leaving Olivia almost dazed.

"Let's catch up latter?" She asked hopefully, smiling at Kelly.

Kelly nodded, and started to slide her helmet on, but stopped once again. The look on her face was pained as she examined Olivia's newly armored form, almost as though through a new set of eyes.

Her expression was as cold as steel, she looked broken like she was never gonna heal.

Then in one swift motion she slid her helmet on and ran out the door to rejoin the group as though nothing had happened.

Olivia paused for a brief moment.

She had known that joining the Spartan program would be hard, and it had been hard, harder than anything that had happened to her in her life, except losing her parents, but now it was over. She had become a Spartan, and Spartans never die, so how could anything touch her?

But still Kelly seemed worried for her.

Surely it was just a friendly thing. Her training had put her through grueling tests of body, mind, and soul. What could be harder than that?

Nothing, she told herself before taking off after Kelly.

She just had to stay brave, and someday, the hole the Covenant had left in her parent's place would fill itself.


End file.
